FORT MYERS - This is one of a series of stories leading up to the Aug. 9 start of early voting. Watch naplesnews.com and the Daily News for continuing election coverage leading to the Aug. 24 primary.

Four candidates, four very similar goals: keep taxes low and create jobs.

So with such common platforms, it may be the backgrounds and experiences of four candidates for the Lee County Commission District 1 seat that set them apart most.

All four candidates were finalists in the governor's search for the late Commissioner Bob Janes' replacement. The winner in the four-way race will go up against no party affiliation candidate and former Sanibel Mayor Carla Brooks Johnston in November.

Anyone in Lee County can vote in the race, regardless of whether they live in District 1. There will be no runoffs in the August primary, so the candidate with the most votes will be named the winner.

Janes was succeeded in July by former Lee Commissioner John Manning. Manning, who wrapped up 12 years on the commission in 2000, is now running for election to the post.

He cites his previous commission experience as one of his biggest selling points.

Manning's main goals are to stabilize the budget for fiscal 2011 and create jobs in Lee, mostly by encouraging businesses to relocate to the county. He also proposes creating a micro-loan program, which would loan money to Lee businesses hoping to expand.

"Not for businesses that are in trouble, but for businesses that have been successful, but are having trouble getting lending in today's climate," Manning said.

For the past 10 years, Manning has worked at an environmental and waste management consulting company. His foray back into politics does come with something of a shadow — in 2000, Manning pleaded no contest to a charge that his office failed to keep proper records of meetings with lobbyists.

Manning said this was the result of an administrative error — paper records were misplaced and not filed correctly by assistants in his office.

"I paid fines, I paid court costs, I was never arrested, I never went to court," he said. "Instead of fighting it in court, I said, ‘Let's step up to this.' I'm satisfied that's not an impediment."

A candidate with a little more recent experience as an elected official is Bob Chilmonik, a former School Board member in Lee County, and a computer technology instructor at Edison State College. Chilmonik, who was first elected to the School Board in 2002, stepped down in June, unable to run for commission and serve on the board at the same time because of a miscommunication over filing deadlines.

Chilmonik proposes to keep taxes low in order to attract business, especially in the realm of small-scale manufacturing. Meanwhile, he proposes drawing more South American air traffic through Southwest Florida International Airport, particularly freight.

"That particular continent has become a juggernaut of manufacturing," he said. "But, a lot of that trade is going through the Miami airport."

Despite his two terms on the Lee School Board, Chilmonik doesn't just talk about himself in the language of an elected official; he also likes to invoke his 18 years working for Heinz and Nabisco companies, at times as a sales representative, analyst and regional manager.

While on the Lee County School Board, Chilmonik often was the squeaky wheel, questioning Superintendent James Browder's actions, and opposing the other four members on issues such as budget and spending decisions.

While Chilmonik wears that as a badge of honor, one opponent in this race uses it to question Chilmonik's efficacy as an elected official.

"I believe that in eight years on the School Board, if you can't build consensus in some amount of time, it doesn't bode well with what you could do as a commissioner," candidate Chris Berardi said.

Berardi is a real estate agent and former Cape Coral City Council member. His time as an elected official was brief — an eight-month stint as an appointee to the Cape Coral council in 2007. He sought election to that seat, but was defeated.

He currently serves as a member of the Lee Metropolitan Planning Organization's Citizens Advisory Committee and the Lee County Affordable Housing Committee.

While pledging to keep taxes low and create jobs by streamlining the permitting process and offering tax incentives to business, Berardi said he thinks he can also help infuse the commission with the same spirit lost when Janes died.

"One thing I always admired about commissioner Janes and want to bring to the table is the ability to work with all of the commissioners," he said. "To have someone who is willing to be a statesman — Commissioner Janes, whether you agreed with him or disagreed with him, his opinions were always based in fact."

Finally among the candidates, with one of the most varied careers, is Mike Jackson, a former economic development director with the city of Cape Coral. He went into early retirement in 2008.

Jackson started his career as an NBC News correspondent, and eventually owned a corporate communications firm in Chicago that represented the likes of Kraft foods and Motorola.

"I've had three successful careers," Jackson said. "Each career, I think, has given me an advantage."

Jackson said he brings his experience in economic development to the table, as well as "a genuine awareness that government has taken on more than it should."

Jackson, somewhat like Manning, said he likes to think of economic development in regional terms. He advocates for working with Collier County on the Jackson Lab venture, and said development needs to focus on collaborations with other agencies and governments.

Jackson also cites two issues of interest that were near and dear to the late Commissioner Janes' heart: environmental preservation and assistance for behavioral health problems.